This Week on Jazz Spectrum - 4/12

This Week on Jazz Spectrum Friday: Andrew Hill’s Point of Departure

By Fritz Byers

This Friday’s 10pm hour presents in its entirety the pianist Andrew Hill’s 1964 triumph, Point of Departure.  Twined with the five tracks from that album are two cuts from the guitarist Nels Cline’s 2006 date, New Monastery: A View into the Music of Andrew Hill.  Each of the Cline excursions is tied to Point of Departure.  I intend the hour to provide exposure to a permanent classic in the repertoire, and to invite you to develop your own point of view on Andrew’s accomplishments.

In January, I blogged a reminiscence of Andrew and a paean to his music; the piece, which you can find here, includes a loving nod to Nels’s release.  

Herewith, then, just a few more thoughts on Point of Departure.  It is his fourth Blue Note recording as a leader, following Black Fire, Smoke Stack, and Judgment!.  As was true of those three earlier releases, Andrew wrote all of the tunes on Point of Departure.  Each of the five reflects a notable advance in the intricacy, refinement, and rhythmic ingenuity of Andrew’s composing and arranging.  I’m sure part of the wonder I feel in hearing these works is because of the unmistakable influence of Thelonious Monk on the writing and the playing on the album.

I don’t think it’s guesswork to say that “New Monastery,” my favorite tune on the date, is a clever reference to Monk and a suggestion that Andrew is building something new on the foundation Thelonious laid.  Andrew’s solo on that track approaches the subtly shifting rhythms of the tune with a loose-fingered imaginative playfulness that has only one precursor – and you know who that was.  

Richard Davis was always Andrew’s choice for bassist – he’s on all the Blue Note dates – but Point of Departure is the teen-prodigy drummer Tony Williams’s only work with Hill, and his open-range adventures on this tune are central to the overall feel of the tune, which is one of time’s having come ever-so-slightly unstuck.  (On his recording, Nels blends “New Monastery” with “Reconciliation,” which appears on Judgment!  I think this medley, which is captivating, suggests a fascinating insight into the rhythmic inventions that connect the two tunes.)

One more thing to note: on “Spectrum,” Andrew injects much more overt time-changes, including a marvelous passage in 5/4 in which Eric Dolphy’s bass clarinet, Joe Henderson’s tenor saxophone, and Kenny Dorham’s trumpet are both a loosely connected ensemble and a trio of equal, divergent voices.  This section is a highlight of mid-60s jazz.  As is the entire release.

Song of the Week – Imagination

By Fritz Byers & Aly Krajewski

Hi Aly, 

The sun and the moon may come and go in their intricate dance, but the Song of the Week stays its steady course, coming along every week no matter how the celestial bodies might try to interfere.  

This week’s song is “Imagination,” composed in 1940 by the great music-‘n’-lyric pair of Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke.  (I’ve doubt we’ll be back to mine their lode in the weeks to come – “But Beautiful” “Here’s That Rainy Day” “It Could Happen to You” “Like Someone in Love” Moonlight Becomes You,” and a gem the great Jimmy Rowles revived, “Sunday, Monday, Or Always”).  I landed on “Imagination” by yielding to the complementary tugs of two discrete cosmic forces: 

First, I spent the weekend thinking about how the earliest humans made sense of eclipses, which led me to think about the role of imagination in how we have made, and make, sense of the mysteries of our worlds.

Second, and more immediately, I continued to feel the sting of your having quietly upbraided me last week for not picking Chet Baker’s version of “Easy Living.”  I know you have a Jones for Chet’s music, and I shouldn’t have transgressed.  How to make it up?  

The universe supplied the answer:  Sunday, the magic hand of shuffle-play magic called up Chet’s plaintive instrumental version of “Imagination” from the 1953 session with the pianist Russ Freeman.  The recording didn’t make the original 10” LP issued by Pacific Jazz, but I’ve known of it since the complete sessions – four dates spread over July and October 1953  --were released on Mosaic.  Chet sang only one song in those sessions – “I Fall in Love Too Easily,” a recording that has achieved pantheon status among his fans.  His first substantial vocal performances would be recorded the following year.  Heresy alert – I’d rather listen to him play trumpet.

So, “Imagination.”  Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra made one of the two early hit recordings of the song in 1940, backing the vocal refrain by a youthful-voiced Frank Sinatra, who earlier that year had his first hit with another Van Heusen-Burke collaboration, “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.”   The slight research I did shows that, contrary to what I’d assumed, the Dorsey-Sinatra version of “Imagination” was a minor hit, outstripped by a contemporaneous recording by Glenn Miller.  But this Saturday, we’ll hear Tommy and Frank.

I know better than to keep you waiting (again) for Chet, so he’s next.  I’ve always been drawn to his tone, which is round, warm, and intimate.  He had a distinctive way of bending the pitch from one note to the next in his light-footed single-note runs.  This recording is a particularly good example of that, as well as of his manner of suggesting the lyrics of a tune by the way he stresses certain beats.  I hope this one registers with you.

June Christy’s version, from her 1957 record, Fair and Warmer, gives us yet another example of the smooth vocal style that makes her 1950s Capitol recordings so emblematic of that decade’s signature Cool Jazz sound.  I’m somehow obliged to report that the students in my Jazz History class showed mostly disdain for June’s singing, and unanimously preferred Jo Stafford.  You know I cherish Jo’s recordings, but I’m happy we have them both, and June’s version of “Imagination” is nearly perfect in tempo and timbre.

The tenorman Illinois Jacquet and his orchestra conclude the first set with a May 1962 recording.  I first encountered Illinois on the radio, hearing some of the popular recordings that sacrificed his lyrical full-bodied tone for the more flamboyant R&B honking that brought him a wider audience.  But then I heard him present two long sets with a piano trio at the Village Vanguard in the early 1990s, and, for whatever reason, he was in a tender and sentimental mood that night, playing almost entirely slow-paced ballads.  Since then, that’s how I prefer to hear him.  That night, the emcee introduced him as Illinois Jacquet, and when Illinois appeared on stage he swiftly corrected things: “JEAN-BAPTISTE Illinois Jacquet.”  Indeed.

For all the majesty of her Songbook series, and her recordings with big bands and piano trios, Ella Fitzgerald is at her distilled best when she’s backed by only a pianist – either Paul Smith or Ellis Larkins.   The second SotW set this week opens with Ella singing “Imagination” accompanied by only Paul Smith.  Recorded in 1960 and originally released as Ella Fitzgerald Sings Songs from “Let No Man Write My Epitaph,” the session is now available as The Intimate Ella.  Along with Pure Ella, which gathers her two 1950s sessions with Ellis Larkins, this recording is the one to put on when you want to hear, yes, pure Ella, meaning perfectly controlled vocals that swing and get across the meaning of the lyric.

I first heard Woody Shaw on the Dexter Gordon release, Homecoming, documenting his appearance at the Village Vanguard, which marked his return from decades of expatriate life in Europe.  Dexter was, of course, spellbinding, but right away I asked Kim Kleinman, who was across the room, “who’s the trumpeter?”  Woody Shaw.  I didn’t know then that Woody had begun his career with the great multi-reed artist, Eric Dolphy.  Nor did I know how prodigious were his innovations and eventually his influence.  But I’ve been a fanboy since, so his version of “Imagination” was necessary.

Then Rosemary Clooney with her marvelously aged vocal style.  And we conclude with a bit of an oddity.  This recording is of the alto saxophonist Lee Konitz in a pianoless trio.  The recording is part of the August 1961sessions that eventually produced the indisputable masterpiece, Motion, an album that pairs Lee with the bassist Sonny Dallas and the drummer Elvin Jones.  The original album, released late that year, comprises five tracks recorded on August 29.  

Earlier that month, with a different rhythm section, Lee had recorded 29 other tracks, with other musicians, as he explored the new concepts that would produce the ultimate masterwork.  The “Imagination” we hear this Saturday is one of those earlier, long-unreleased tracks.  It certainly doesn’t belong on the shortlisted album; still, it’s Lee Konitz, finding his idiosyncratic way through Jimmy Van Heusen’s melody and the suggestive harmonies, so it’s worth our time.

Let me know what you think.

Yours for responsible tune-selection,

Fritz

Hey Fritz,

Joyous eclipse to you and to all those who celebrate! Nothing like a monumental feat of nature to kick you squarely in the tuchus and make you appreciate being alive. You still have the eclipse on the brain; but my attention has, sadly, been placed elsewhere this season. 

I am being bombarded with the somehow-still-happening-in-April March Madness tournament that many friends and colleagues get so excited about. Do I know anything about basketball? No, no I don't. Am I still inundated with its overbearing, overwhelming, sweaty presence everywhere I turn? You bet. As March tiptoes in on its squeaky sneakers, so does the deluge of its Madness that sweeps through the airwaves like a relentless full-court press. It's as if the universe conspires to inundate every inch of my existence with the bouncing ball of basketball frenzy. Every conversation morphs into a heated debate about bracketology and Cinderella stories, leaving me feeling like I've stumbled into a parallel dimension where the only currency is sports trivia. Meanwhile, I'm over here desperately trying to summon a pea-sized amount of interest, like a lost traveler in a foreign land desperately clutching a map written in a language I don't understand. March Madness isn't just a season; it's a state of mind, an all-consuming vortex that sucks you in whether you like it or not. And here I am, clinging to my remote control like a life raft in the storm, just waiting for mid-April to bring some semblance of sanity back to the world, dammit!

Woops. Another week, another email digression... let's get back on track.
 
This week's song selection – and your choice of features – really got me thinking about how much good jazz music we have access to these days. The ease at which I can queue these songs up, back-to-back, and enjoy a sonically beautiful afternoon at the push of a button...I can't imagine having to rifle through a record collection to accomplish even a fraction of the same task 75 years ago. How would a music critic approach this kind of musical thought exercise back then, if they wanted to attempt it? How does one even begin to critically analyze these versions when the weight of existing in the year of our Lord 2024 bears down on one? I decided I needed some structure in place before I dove into this SotW.

Though I am not usually keen to pit excellence against excellence, I can't help but format this week's reply in the form of a tournament bracket. (Don't blame me; blame the Madness that is March basketball season.) Of course, this is not meant to suggest that any of these artists are singularly "better" than the other; to keep it light, let's think of this as merely a challenge for me to help you better understand how I process your Song of the Week setlists and catalogue their nuances in the rolodex of my brain. And, I do love a good competition.

ROUND 1
Frank Sinatra & Tommy Dorsey VS Chet Baker
A heavy hitting first round from our first- and second-seeds. (Don't tell me if I'm not using the term "seeds" correctly, please.) This is going to be a tough call to decide which version to move forward into our semi-finals. Frank and Tommy, the dynamic duo that they are, might perform one of my favorite versions of this song. I don't know much about the cultural impact of musicians in the 1940's, primarily because I wasn't alive then, but one thing I can tell you with certainty is that I would have been a Frank Sinatra fanatic with all my little heart. Imagine it: A swath of screaming women flood the Paramount Theater in New York City; the tinny microphone Frank is making love to onstage can barely be heard over the shrieks; and I have to be escorted off of the premises for attempting to jump the stage and tear off a piece of Mr. Sinatra's clothing... What was I saying? Anyways. Frank's rendition of "Imagination" is a timeless crooner's dream, capturing the essence of romantic yearning in a single melodic swoon.

All of this said, I'm still picking Chet. Sorry, Frankie – I love ya!

ROUND 2
June Christy VS Jean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet
This was a fun round. I hadn't heard either of these versions before today; but admittedly, I have to agree with your students' sentiments on their Jo Stafford Supremacy. June's version of "Imagination" is bright, warm, sweet; a serviceable vocal treatment for the tune. Jean-Baptiste blows her version out of the water, though. I would love to know what deity he purchased his saxophone from and where I might be able to obtain even a half-ounce of his talent. His smooth delivery, his dynamic control – showcasing his versatility and timbre, transporting me to a smoky jazz club where every note is infused with passion and flair. It's a performance that captivates the senses and reminds us of the power of artistic expression. A clear winner in this round.

All air, no net. (These sports comparisons are getting worse, aren't they?) 

ROUND 3
Ella Fitzgerald VS Woody Shaw
A tour-de-force of a melodic vocal versus a world-class gorgeous toned trumpet. What's a girl to do with this conundrum? Ella's version is a sublime showcase of her unparalleled vocal artistry and emotional depth. Her interpretation is marked by a delicate balance of tenderness and power, as she delicately caresses each lyric with a richness of tone, both captivating and spellbinding. I feel like I'm getting tucked into bed when I hear her soft delivery of "Imagination". Though Woody offers a formidable competitor in his interpretation of the song, you'd be hard pressed to find me NOT picking Ella's version.

ROUND 4
Rosemary Clooney VS Lee Konitz
If I could bottle a voice and spritz it into the air whenever I needed a waft of shimmering, lilting notes, it would be Rosie's audial fragrance, no question. Like so many female jazz (and jazz-adjacent) singers, Rosemary's voice took on a haunting quality as she aged. Her version of "Imagination" here tugs at all of my heartstrings. And what a pairing, to go back-to-back from Rosemary's version headfirst into the rhythm-centered playspace of Lee Konitz's version! I was skeptical at first listen, I'll admit; not to Lee's talent, of course, but more so to this version's deviations from our previous listens. By the end of the listen, I was ultimately convinced that Lee may have made some improvements to the arrangement through his avant-garde exploration. A 3-pointer of a success – Lee advances to our semis.

SEMI 1
Chet VS Jean-Baptiste
Another tough round to navigate. Chet's version, characterized by its laid-back demeanor and introspective mood, emphasizes subtlety and restraint, allowing the emotion to simmer beneath the surface. On the other hand, Jean-Baptise's version takes a more dynamic approach, reflecting the energy of jazz improvisation. The arrangement is infused with a sense of resolve. While both versions share the same underlying melody, they diverge in their interpretation and execution. Baker's rendition is marked by its understated elegance and charm, while Jacquet's version clings to the rich depth of his instrument. A really hard call here. I'm going to give it to Chet, if for nothing else, for how beautiful he makes his instrument speak on this song. 

SEMI 2
Ella VS Lee
Probably our most diametrically opposed sonic meeting is happening here. What Ella is trying to achieve through her vocal rendition and what Lee aims to explore through his on-stage process could not be more different in some ways. Ella's version is a sigh; Lee's, a whistle. I am, surprisingly, going to give it to Lee here. Konitz infuses the song with his signature improvisational style, pushing the boundaries that I didn't even know this song had. His phrasing is fluid and unpredictable, weaving in and out of the song's familiar structure with effortless grace. I actually think I might love that this is a pianoless version; something about the tight rhythm section provides the perfect backdrop for Lee's musings.

FINAL
Chet VS Lee
Well, this is certainly an unexpected final meeting of the musical minds. Who'da thunk it? 
While both versions maintain the essence of the original song, they diverge in their execution and stylistic choices. Baker's rendition is marked by its warmth, while Konitz's version exudes a sense of experimentation and risk-taking. Together, they exemplify the diversity and innovation within the genre, showcasing how different artists can interpret the same piece of music in their own unique style and personality. 

So, who wins? I'll give you one guess. Chesney Henry Baker, Jr, come on down!
Though my bias is definitely showing, I stand firm in my decision to place this made-up trophy firmly in Mr. Baker's proverbial hands. Chet's rendition of "Imagination" epitomizes the essence of cool jazz, enveloping listeners in a dreamy atmosphere of longing. Even with a trumpet, he attains a tender delivery and delicate phrasing – creating an intimate connection, evoking a sense of nostalgia and melancholy. There's something so perfect about Chet's delivery; perhaps it's only perfect for me, but I strongly suspect I'm not the only one. I hope he's celebrating this sports-adjacent victory with a stiff drink and a cigarette. 

Rah rah sis boom bah,
Aly